Prior art workers have devised numerous types of large capacity pressure cookers. Such pressure cookers generally comprise a pot of a size to receive a wire basket in which products to be cooked are placed and then immersed in cooking oil contained within the pot. The pot is closed by a lid which is sealed to the top of the pot, whereupon the products are cooked for the desired length of time under heat and pressure. Following the cooking cycle, the pressure in the pot is relieved that the lid is opened, whereupon the products are removed from the wire basket, the customary practice being to transfer the cooked products to trays which are of a size to be received in a holding and/or display cabinet where the cooked products are retained under controlled conditions until served.
It is usual practice to provide an electrical heating element to heat the cooking oil within the pot. Examples of such large capacity pressure cookers are taught in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/283,571, filed Dec. 3, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,408 in the name of James D. King and Stephen D. Werts, and entitled LARGE CAPACITY PRESSURE COOKER, and co-pending application Ser. No. 07/403,589, filed Sept. 6, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,101 in the names of James D. King and Stephen D. Werts, entitled A SINGLE HANDLE LID OPENING, CLOSING AND LOCKING MECHANISM FOR A LARGE CAPACITY PRESSURE COOKER.
In some instances, due to the economy and availability of natural gas or propane, it would be desirable to provide a large capacity Pressure cooker wherein the cooking oil within the pot is heated by radiant burner units utilizing a gas/air mixture. Furthermore, such a unit would not require the need for special wiring and the like.
The present invention is based upon the discovery that a large capacity, gas fired pressure cooker can be provided which is very simple in construction and efficient in operation. A pair of radiant burners are mounted in parallel spaced relationship to the pot sides by an insulative shell which completely surrounds the pot. The shell is provided with baffles which divide the shell interior into two separate combustion chambers and two separate flue passageways, each of which extends along one-half of the pot front wall, along one of the pot sides and along one-half of the pot rear wall. The arrangement of baffles is such that the products of combustion in the combustion chambers circulate to the front wall of the pot and enter the flue passages. The products of combustion thereafter circulate along the pot sides to the pot rear wall where they enter a flue. The gas is appropriately metered to the pair of burners and both the overall amount of air and the amount of air mixed with gas for each burner are individually controllable. Each burner has an ignitor and safety devices are provided for monitoring the gas, the air, and the oil temperature within the pot.